Beer Army

Multiplicity

Hey! What do you know, I turned out not to be a liar after all. I called my shot in last month’s Stout Objective swearing up and down that we would be open by the end of April. I guess Murphy decided not to show up and spoil it for us.

On Monday, 16 April, we expected the Beer Army Outpost in New Bern to open up to not much fan fare. The whole idea was to have a soft opening and do it at the beginning of the week to work out all the kinks in the systems before the weekend. I guess we…

Hard Cider – An Ap-Peeling Addition to Big Beer?

Hard cider has become one of the most visible segments of the craft brewing industry and has a marked appeal (or should that be ap-peel?) with both men and women. Hard cider offers quite a lot, from a taste that differs immensely from beer to historical roots deep in American culture. With those benefits, cider is also gaining a lot of notice from Big Beer these days and the purchase of Crispin Cider Company by MillerCoors shows just how attractive big brewers are finding the fermented apple…

7 Ways Beer ROCKS MY FACE OFF in the Summer!!

1.  Working on the yard during the sun season is a great excuse to get outside and moisten the brow plowing one’s own refinanced plot of land.  Its these sizzlingly humid and gritty days of glorious silt digging to come that I look forward too the most – to enjoy the first crisp soul satisfying sip of cold brew after watching someone else doing all that sweaty mucky nonsense while I lay in my hammock re-reading The Hunger Games trilogy.  Nothing spells a satisfyingly smooth summer as…

Basic Training for Beer and Food Pairing

As Americans, we are known for our love of beer and food, so much that it is arguably as much of a movement as it is an epidemic, apparently. In fact, as I’m sitting here writing this piece, I have an apple and a Reece’s candy bar sitting on my desk in front of me. So which one should I go for? What can I say; I got a sweet tooth bigger than my eyes which are bigger than my stomach. As much as I love food, I can’t help but wonder, “What kind of beer would pair well with this nutty,…

The Birth of a Bar and an Anniversary to Celebrate

Bar ideas are fluid. Not every idea that works will work in any bar that you might want to run. So, you take ideas from all bars and you fit the ones you like with your theme and your particular taste.

If you recall, a few months ago I talked about a favorite bar of mine that closed. For the longest time I had to travel further to find a watering hole I was comfortable visiting. That is until recently when a new bar went in across the parking lot from the old bar.

Of course, I…

A Beer-Centric Dinner

For this session of Chow Hall I thought I would breakdown a coursed out meal. Some of these pairings might be a little off the wall and some might be tame. The idea is to experiment, push the envelope, diversify your pairings, and to never settle. Some of these pairings are of my own design, others are from working with my chef Jorel Pierce at Euclid Hall, and others are from the ingenious mind of Ryan Conklin, Euclid Hall’s Certified Cicerone. No matter who thought up the pairing the…

Delirious about pink elephants

Never judge a book by its cover…the old saying that I repeat to myself whenever I see something that has the “ooh shiny” or “whoa-wow” appeal. As much as I try to remain neutral about appearances, sometimes I can’t resist getting googly eyes. When something visually enticing makes me feel nostalgic…I’m a goner. Ready? I’m setting you up for a flashback.

It was the winter of 200?—well I can’t remember which New Year’s weekend but it was sometime when I dated what’s-his-face.…